Guidance

Malta: bereavement information

Updated 20 January 2023

1. Disclaimer

This information is not meant to be definitive, nor is it to be taken as a substitute for independent legal advice. Neither His Majesty’s Government nor its staff take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information, nor accept liability for any loss, costs, damage or expense that you might suffer as a result of relying on the information. Some of the information may not be relevant to your circumstances. The language used is intended to be general and factual and is not meant to cause offence.

2. Introduction

When a relative or friend dies abroad, the different procedures, laws or language can cause additional distress. You may be uncertain about what to do or who to contact.

This country specific information is designed to help you through some of the practical arrangements you may need to make. It supplements the general information on death abroad produced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which applies to all countries.

Please note, as each country has its own laws and customs when a death occurs, it may not be possible to make the arrangements that you prefer, or at the time you would like.

3. How to contact the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

There is a lot of information below, but you may have questions. You can speak to someone by phone 24/7, any day of the year by contacting the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London on 0207 008 1500.

If you are not in the UK, you can find the contact details of the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate online

The priority of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is to provide assistance to British nationals overseas who need the most help. The level and type of assistance they can offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case.

4. Next of kin

The next of kin of the person who died will usually need to make decisions and practical arrangements. The next of kin can sometimes appoint another person to act on their behalf.

If you are not the next of kin, they will need to be informed. If required, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office can help you do this.

There is no legal definition of next of kin in the UK. Please note that if there is a disagreement over who is the next of kin, or the person who died did not choose a next of kin, this can cause additional complications.

Maltese law provides for the rights of inheritance heirs through the express intentions of the deceased through a legal will.

In the absence of a will, the law recognises certain family members as being the next of kin entitled to inherit the deceased’s property.

In Malta the seniority of next of kin is usually as follows:

• descendants
• spouse
• ascendants
• collateral relatives

Persons claiming to be the heirs at law (in the case of intestate succession) of a deceased person need to file a court application before the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section) whereby they demand the opening of succession in their favour.

When someone dies in Malta and the next of kin is in the UK or abroad, Maltese authorities normally notify the British Consulate. The Consulate will do whatever they can to trace the next of kin as soon as possible and would ask the UK police to pass on the sad news. However, you may also be notified about the death directly by someone else, for example a doctor, a social worker or a police officer.

4.1 Release of information to next of kin

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office will try to obtain as much information as possible after your relative or friend has died abroad. Some of this may be only available to next of kin. Consular officers may be able to obtain this themselves, or they may put you in touch directly with the authorities overseas. They may be able to provide you with details of others who can advocate on your behalf such as lawyers, charities, or other organisations.

Access to information concerning a death may in some cases be restricted until a Magisterial Inquiry is held and concluded. The Maltese authorities will usually not provide this information directly to next of kin, or to third parties, including our Consulates, until after the conclusion of the Inquiry can take several months and in some more complicated instances, years.

5. Insurance

It is very important to check if the person who died had insurance. If they had insurance, contact the insurance company as soon as possible. They may have a list of approved funeral directors to help you make arrangements, or be able to cover some of the costs.

If the person who died did not have insurance, the next of kin will usually have to appoint a funeral director and will usually be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office cannot help with these costs.

6. Appointing a funeral director

If you decide to bring the deceased to the UK for the funeral or cremation, you may only need to appoint an international funeral director. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office produces a list of international funeral directors based in the UK.

If you decide to hold a funeral or cremation in Malta, you can find a list of funeral directors in Malta.

A relative or a formally appointed representative must instruct a local funeral director in Malta or an international funeral director in the UK for a body to be repatriated to the UK, or buried in Malta. However if the deceased was insured you should immediately contact the insurance company to establish if they are able to cover for the repatriation expenses and make the necessary arrangements.

You may need the insurance policy number and the associated 24-hour medical emergency contact number to do this. If the travel insurance company confirm that there is a current policy, you should not appoint your own funeral director or be pressurised by local funeral agencies to do so. It will be the insurance company that will appoint the funeral director both locally and in the UK.

7. Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate

Registration of deaths is compulsory in Malta. In Malta, two death certificates are issued sequentially:

1. At the time of death, the hospital authority will issue a provisional standard death notification certificate. This may be used to arrange for burial or other funeral arrangements. Additional signed copies of the first certificate will be necessary for either repatriation or cremation. This certificate is used register the death at the Public Registry within 7 working days of the death.

2. The Public Registry will issue the official “Act of Death Certificate” . The application form for the Act of Death Certificate can be downloaded from the Public Registry Website. This certificate usually take one month to become available and comes in both long and short form versions.

The local authorities will need to be told if the person suffered from an infectious condition such as hepatitis or HIV so they can take precautions against infection.

You do not need to register the death with the UK authorities. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate. If it is not in English, you will need to obtain and pay for an official translation.

You may register a person’s death remotely, simply by filling in an online registration form available through Identity Malta’s website.

8. Post mortem examinations (autopsies)

A post-mortem, which is also known as an autopsy, is normally performed in all cases and certainly when the death is not by natural causes. A doctor in a state hospital may also request a post-mortem for a death by natural causes when the cause of death is unclear.

Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the hospital or by the court sometimes called pathologists.

During a post-mortem, small tissue samples and organs may be removed and retained for testing, including toxicological studies. This is done in order to better understand the cause of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that might be present. It can be crucial to establish cause of death in cases where criminal or civil legal procedures may eventuate. The Maltese authorities will not charge next of kin to conduct a post-mortem.

In some cases it may be necessary to have a further autopsy in the UK even though one has been carried out overseas and, when repatriation is to England or Wales, it is probable that the Coroner will wish to hold an inquest.

9. Mortuary facilities

The Maltese mortuary facility is of a high standard and similar to that in the UK. The Mortuary is attached to main local hospital, Mater Dei.

10. Burial, cremation, repatriation

The next of kin of the person who has died will usually need to decide between a local burial, cremation or bringing the person home, which is known as repatriation. Your funeral director will usually be able to explain the options available, the costs, and help you make arrangements.

If you choose a local burial, you will need to instruct a local funeral director and they can make the necessary arrangements with either a private of government owned cemetery. A ceremony can be organised by the funeral director or a registered celebrant. You can make specific arrangements depending on your cultural and/or religious beliefs.

Cremation has recently become legal in Malta, however, currently no facilities exit for cremation. If you are thinking of arranging a cremation, please take advice from your local funeral director who may be able to arrange for cremation in Sicily.

Organ donation and donating a body to the University of Malta are both possible, however arrangements must be made well in advance of death and with the deceased’s permission.

Please note if a local burial or cremation takes place, then an inquest in the UK will not be possible. For more information on inquests, see the information on UK coroners and inquests below.

If a family are unable to pay for funeral arrangements in Malta a pauper’s funeral will be arranged at a municipal gravesite.

11. Return of personal belongings

Personal belongings found on the deceased at the time of death are either held by the hospital, or taken by the police. If there is an investigation into the death, the deceased’s clothing can be retained as evidence and is not returned until the court case is finished.

In both instances, the next of kin may need to engage a lawyer to release the deceased’s belongings into their care.

Please note, the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate cannot take responsibility for the personal belongings of the person who died.

12. Steps to take in the UK

You can find more information on the steps to take in the UK online. This includes information on arranging the funeral, telling the government about the death, UK pensions and benefits, and dealing with the estate of the person who died. There is a step-by-step guide on gov.uk.

13. British passport cancellation

In order to avoid identity fraud, the passport of the person who died should be cancelled with HM Passport Office (HMPO). To do this, you will need to complete a “D1 form”.

The form and instructions on where to send it is available online

If you plan to repatriate the person who died to the UK, you may require their passport to do this. In these circumstances, you should cancel the passport after they have been repatriated.

14. Child deaths

Police in Malta will hold a full investigation into any death and there are no separate procedures for deaths involving children.

15. Deaths investigated as murder or manslaughter

If the local police have confirmed that they are investigating the death as a murder or manslaughter a dedicated team within the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be available to provide support, including by referring you to a specialised organisation. You can find more about what they can do online.

If a death is regarded as suspicious, the Police will investigate in full. If an offender is identified and charged, they will be prosecuted Maltese authorities. A Magistrate, will investigate deaths that are ‘unnatural’ such as accidents, suicides or homicides; deaths that have occurred in prison or in care, or have unknown causes.

The time from arrest to trial can be lengthy and, in some complicated cases can take years. The average case will take between 18 to 60 months unless the offender pleads guilty which significantly reduces the time taken to sentencing.

You should note that if the deceased is repatriated to parts of the UK a coroner or procurator fiscal may decide to hold an inquest. See the section on UK coroners and inquests below.

16. UK coroners and inquests

If you repatriate the person who died to England and Wales, there may be an inquest. The decision on when to hold an inquest is made by HM Coroner. Please note, an inquest will usually only happen in certain situations, for example, when someone has died in suspicious, unnatural, and violent circumstances or whilst in detention. If the person who died is cremated and only their ashes are brought home, there will not be an inquest.

If you repatriate the person who died to Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal may decide to call for a Fatal Accidents or Injuries Inquiry.

If you repatriate the person who died to Northern Ireland, there will be no coronial inquest or further inquiry.

Please note, Procurators Fiscal and Coroners do not have jurisdiction in another country, nor do they seek to apportion blame to a named individual.

You can find more information on Coroners and the Procurator Fiscal in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guide on Death Abroad

17. Legal Aid

Legal Aid is Maltese legal service dealing mainly with family law and criminal legal matters. They provide free legal advice as well as court representation.

For further information on this, or how to find a lawyer if you need one, see our list of lawyers.

18. Compensation

The Maltese government provides European citizens with the right to claim compensation for the criminal injuries they have sustained so long as such injuries were subject to criminal proceedings or reported to the Police immediately.

Compensation can be claimed either by the victim himself or by a dependent or other person if the latter has suffered any money loss or incurred expenses because of the crime sustained by the victim. More information about making a claim can be found on the Department of Justice portal.

19. Additional support

19.1 Local support organisations

There are counselling services in Malta that can provide support for those experiencing grief and loss. You can find further support at:

• Maltese Support Group for the Widowed
• Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society
• Victim Support Malta

19.2 Support organisations in the UK

In the UK, many organisations can help bereaved families. Some of these are listed in the guide coping with death abroad